Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1242957
38 INNOVATION Dr. Elizabeth Nabel: The medical innovation ecosystem is under attack By Andrea Park C ongressional proposals regarding drug pricing will reduce the financial incentives that spur the discovery and development of new treatments, therefore staunching the flow of biomedical innova- tion, according to Elizabeth Nabel, MD, pres- ident of Brigham Health. In a Feb. 13 op-ed for e Detroit News, Dr. Na- bel, who is also president of the Boston-based health system's Brigham and Women's Hos- pital and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, posited that "our innovation ecosystem is now under assault." Cutting-edge medicines — such as those de- veloped in recent years to treat rare pediatric blood diseases and cure hepatitis C — require years of research, millions in financial back- ing and government policies and regulations that encourage innovation, all of which is currently "threatened" by policy propos- als regarding drug price controls, Dr. Nabel wrote. "In Congress, some lawmakers want to im- port foreign price controls. Others want to in- troduce price controls in Medicare. Still oth- ers want to allow the federal government to set prices on any medicine whose origin lies in government-funded research," she wrote. "ough doubtlessly well-intentioned, these policy changes could eliminate the financial incentives that allow research scientists to ex- plore new treatments." ese proposals, Dr. Nabel suggested, would limit most biomedical research to govern- ment-funded labs, an undesirable situation in which "a handful of government officials ... decide which experimental treatments get funding — and which ones die in the lab." Drug discovery and innovation thrives, how- ever, when privately funded firms, which are better equipped to withstand the risk and ex- pense associated with drug development, are given the resources they need to do so. "If we want American firms to continue pro- ducing lifesaving treatments, we need to pro- tect them," Dr. Nabel concluded. n Providence launches global innovation center in India By Andrea Park P rovidence opened its global innovation center in Hyderabad, India, on Feb. 27, marking the first time the Renton, Wash.-based health sys- tem has hired and stationed staff internationally, ac- cording to a news release sent to Becker's. The center's work will be focused on using big data, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, cloud computing, analytics and other emerging technologies to drive the digital transformation of healthcare. The center will be led by Murali Krishna, who will serve as senior vice president and country manag- er of Providence India. Mr. Krishna previously held leadership roles at Microsoft and GE. "We are delighted to open our global innova- tion center in India. India has world-class talent to help accelerate our journey towards a digitally en- abled health ecosystem," B.J. Moore, executive vice president and CIO of Providence, said in the release. "We are confident that this investment will help us in achieving our vision of health for a bet- ter world and be at the forefront of innovation in the healthcare industry." n HFAP provides: • Trusted, recognized accreditation for hospitals with or without Medicare deemed status. • Accreditation for clinical laboratories. • Certification for Stroke, Joint Replacement, and Wound Care programs and Compounding Pharmacies. • Responsive, accessible, cost-effective customer support. LEARN MORE: WWW.HFAP.ORG CONTACT US: 312.920.7383 INFO@HFAP.ORG CELEBRATING 75 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE OF HOSPITAL ACCREDITATION